Pokemon: The Depth of Passion
by Norse Kode
Summary: How does one move on from heartbreak?How does a young man striving to achieve his dreams, shoulder the pain of betrayal? When all he knew turned out to be a lie, a trick, a betrayal. All bar a few stood against him, demanded he give up, quit, throw in the towel on his true calling in life. To cease to be a Pokemon Master...
1. Chapter 1

Hey all! I'm here with a new story, pretty generic but I had an idea and it'll have a twist.

hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

—

 **Chapter 1:**

 ** _Flashback_**

" _I know we didn't win the Kalos league buddy, but coming second is a big step forward in our dream to be the best, right?"_

 _Ash looked to his best friend in the whole world on his shoulder with a grin._

" _Pi-Pikachu!" Chirped the eclectic type._

 _Ash smiled and turned back to the road, immediately after doing so a large grin made its way across his face._

" _We're finally home bud! I can't wait to have some of mums home cooked food! Aww man am I hungry.." Ash groaned as his belly rumbled in agreement._

 _Pikachu snickered at his trainer as the two dashed down the road towards the childhood home._

 _Upon arrival at the house Ash noticed a few people outside talking to each other, what shocked Ash was that one wasn't meant to be here._

" _Serena? I thought you were on a plane to Hoenn, How come you're in Pallet?_

 _Said girl turned to Ash with a morose look on her face, he noticed Gary, Brock and Dawn with her._

" _Hey guys! Long time no see! What's with all the gloomy faces? He finished when he realised something was wrong._

 _Serena stepped forward and hugged Ash tightly. After a few seconds she pulled away, "Ash, I-I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell you.. b-but."_

" _It's okay Serena, I'll take it from here." Gary places a hand on her shoulder and she nods and steps back a little. Ash now thoroughly confused scratches his head._

" _What's going on guys?..." he frowned while Pikachu's ears twitched._

 _Gary nodded and crossed his arms._

" _Ash before I say anything you need to understand that us four are with you one hundred percent okay? As well as your mum and gramps." Ash only nodded slowly as Gary sighed and continued._

" _Well... to put it simply all your other traveling friends are inside, and they... well they came here to try and persuade you to give up your dream to be a Pokemon Master... they want you to give up as they feel you're wasting your time and theirs... which I personally believe to be a load of Tauros shit."_

 _All of Gary's words hit Ash like a Boomburst, how could his best friends tell him to quit... to give up on his life dream. It's like a massive Rhyperior just stomped his heart._

 _After a few seconds Ash looked at them all, "W-Where is my mum and Professor Oak?"_

 _Brick stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder,_

" _They're inside trying to get them to see reason... Serena said your friends Bonnie and Clemont aren't here though." Ash nodded and looked at Serena._

" _How come you came all the way here?" He spoke softly trying not to tear up._

 _Serena just gave him a loving smile and grabbed his hand, Ash squeezed her hand back gently. "You tell me, Ash."_

 _Ash chuckled softly and smiled at her,_

" _Ya know... it took me most of the flight home thinking about it to finally understand why you kissed me at the airport. And just so you know... you don't need to become a more attractive girl Serena, I think you're perfect already."_

 _Serena's eyes widened causing her cheeks to turn scarlet. "Y-you..."_

 _Ash grinned before pulling her forward for a sweet kiss. After a few seconds he pulled away and scratched his head once more._

" _Yeah... I'm sure I feel the same way too."_

 _Serena stood stunned processing what just happens before tearing up. "You have no idea how happy I am Ash..."_

 _Ash smiled and grabbed her hand facing the others. Brock was crying in happiness while Dawn held her hands together while smiling. Gary had a huge grin on his face, "Well I'm a little surprised you found a girlfriend Ashy-Boy, And I'm happy for you but we have a situation inside..."_

 _Ash and Serena both came back to reality and frowned. "Yeah... I guess it's time to face them."_

 _Serena was heartbroken for Ash having to deal with this, but a look of realisation hit her._

" _Ash because your Flight had a few stopovers I got here yesterday before you. Clemont called me when I landed in Kanto, right after Brock and Gary were done telling me about the situation here. Clemont and Bonnie are with you all the way too. While talking with him he mentioned that Greninja appeared at the lab with Squishy." Serena reached into her bag and pulled out a Pokeball._

" _They finished cleaning up the area really quick from Zygards roots... he wanted to return to his best friend." After finishing she released the Pokeball._

 _As the form of Greninja took shape Ash revealed a massive grin._

" _No way! You're back for good!?" Greninja nodded and raised his fist connecting with Ash's._

" _That's awesome buddy!" Ash looked back to Serena and smiled warmly._

" _Thank you Serena... you're amazing." Said girl blushed and smiled back._

 _After recalling Greninja Ash clipped him to his belt and sighed._

" _I guess it's show time..."_

 _Serena grabbed his hand and nodded while the others stood by his side._

 _Ash walked forward and opened the door, only to be bombarded by yelling._

" _How dare you talk about my son that way with all he has done for you!"_

" _He's a pain in the butt and has no idea what he's doing!"_

" _He's such a kid! He didn't have a clue when we travelled together!"_

" _He only held us back! Especially with Team Rocket always after Pikachu!"_

" _He hasn't even defeated a league after 8 years of being a trainer!"_

" _Ash is a brilliant and innovative young man! Success isn't only determined by victory!"_

" _Bah! We all know Ash only got this far on luck alone!"_

 _Ash stood there in shock as he observed the back and forth between his 'friends' and his mother and Professor Oak._

 _He decided enough was enough when he heard the last rant._

" _And of course they would stand by him, Gary is a moron, Brock is a perverted freak, Dawn's a suck up and Serena is just a stalker!"_

" _THATS ENOUGH!" Ash roared, effectively silencing the whole room. Everyone looked at him in shock as he fumed with his fists clenched._

" _I can handle being ridiculed... I can handle threats, being called names and looked down on. But no one... NO ONE! Disrespects my family and the people I care about! And least of all the girl I love!"_

 _Ash bellowed Making everyone step backwards bar his mum and the professor who had proud looks in their eyes._

" _You came here where you were welcomed with open arms and disrespected my mum in her own home, claiming that I'm a failure... when each and every one of you has failed too." Ash growled while glaring at them._

 _Misty being a hothead stepped forward, "oh please, we know you won't do anything. You're too nice and not to mention weak to do anything. Besides you don't even know what love is you dense moron!" She yelled earning snickers from the others._

 _Ash raised an eyebrow before turning and pulling Serena into a deep kiss. The room fell silent as the traitors all gasped._

 _Ash pulled away from Serena and moved some of her hair behind her ear with a smile. Serena smiled back as Ash turned his head to Misty and frowned._

" _Just because I didn't show it as a kid, mind you being 10 years old is a fair excuse to not know what love is, it Doesn't mean I don't know now."_

 _He then stepped forward._

" _I think it's time for you all to leave.."_

 _The traitors all frowned, Before They all reaches for their Pokeballs._

" _Not until we wipe the floor with you Ketchum!" Misty growled._

 _Ash growled before reaching for his own, "Lets do this outside!"_

 _A few moments later Ash was on one side of the field as the traitors took the other._

" _Greninja! I choose you!" Ash bellowed as the ninja appeared in his usual pose._

" _Lets go Gyarados!" -Misty_

" _Go Dragonite." -Iris_

" _Let's end this Blaziken!" - May_

" _You're up Gallade!" - Max_

" _Time to evaluate Pansage!" - Cilan_

" _Go Scyther!" - Tracey_

 _Ash watched as the Pokémon appeared one by one. Serena, Brock, Dawn and Gary released Sylveon, Steelix, Mamoswine and Electivire respectively._

 _Ash clenched his fist and nodded at Greninja, "Let'z Go!"_

 _Greninja became surrounded in the water veil as he changed form, the traitors eyes widened as Ash-Greninja was revealed._

 _Ash looked at the others and grinned, "Thanks for the back up guys, but me and Greninja have this!"_

" _Go! Double team!" Ash roared. Greninja jumped and split itself into at least 10 copies._

" _Water Shuriken!" The Greninja's all grabbed the large shuriken from their back and flung them at high speed towards the foes._

 _Before any had time to counter the attacks hit kicking up a dust cloud._

 _Ash threw his fist forward, "Bring it together and end them all with Aerial Ace!"_

 _Greninja disperses the copies before dashing into the cloud, a numerous amount of grunts were heard before Greninja re appeared by Ash._

 _The field was silent as the dust settled revealing only Dragonite and Gyarados standing albeit banged up._

" _What! How is it that strong!?" They all cried as Ash smirked._

" _I'm assuming you didn't actually watch the Kalos league finals... where I came second to a Mega Charizard. Unlucky for you this ends here! Go! Greninja finish this with Mega Shuriken!"_

 _Greninja grunted and raised it's Shuriken high about it spinning while growing in size tenfold._

 _Misty in her rage decided to take out some anger, "Gyarados! Use Fire blast on that stupid house!"_

 _Ash's eyes shot wide as the attack was fired at his childhood home._

 _Looking around quickly he noticed his mother wasn't outside,_

" _No! My mum is inside!"_

 _Misty gasped and tried to stop the attack but the damage was done as flames engulfed the home._

 _Within seconds the house was crumbling, "Fire it at the house Greninja!"_

 _The frog threw the attack at the house which doused the flames but it was obvious the damage was done._

 _Ash dropped to his knees in shock, Serena threw herself around him in a hug as the poor boy cried._

 _Sirens were heard and before anyone knew it police and the fire brigade were everywhere._

 _Ash just sat silent in pain._

" _There! That's him! He was losing the battle so he attacked his own home while his mother was inside!"_

 _Ash snapped his head up as police moved towards him._

" _That's a lie! It was her! His Greninja can't even learn fire attacks! It was her Gyarados!" Serena cried out. Professor Oak and the others backed her story and watched as the Police detained Misty._

 _Ash was still in shock from everything as Oak led them all back to the Ranch._

—

 _Later that night Ash was sitting on a bed in one of Oaks spare rooms in silence. Pikachu sat in front of him quietly._

" _She's gone... mums really gone." Ash began to cry as his door opened revealing Serena in her Pyjamas._

 _Ash saw her approach him and continued to sob quietly._

" _Ash... I know I don't know what you're going through but please know that I love you, and I am here with you forever okay." Ash nodded as she moved and sat beside him. She grabbed his arm and laid her head on his shoulder, he rested his in top of hers._

" _I'm not going anywhere Ash."_

 _And they fell asleep cuddled together._

—

 _The next morning everyone was sitting in Oaks living room in silence. They were startled out of their silence when Ash appeared in the doorway._

" _I'm leaving." The group all looked in shock as Ash put on his gloves._

" _I can't handle being at mums funeral... it will break me... I need to go away and get stronger."_

 _Serena stood up and stepped towards him, "I'm coming with you.. and before you tell me no, just know that I will follow you to the end of the earth and back Ash, you're my boyfriend and I love you. You're not doing this alone."_

 _Ash looked into her eyes for a good twenty seconds before sighing and nodding. "Okay Serena, but just know that this is going to be difficult... I have no plan and no idea what I'm going to do."_

" _It doesn't matter because we never give up until the end!" She smiled at him and he smiled back with a nod._

" _Professor, can you please handle mums funeral... you're her oldest friend."_

 _Professor Oak smiled and nodded._

" _Of course Ash, it would be my honour." Ash smiled and looked at Brock, Gary and Dawn._

" _Thanks again guys... for standing by me." The two grinned back._

" _To the end Ash."_

" _Family sticks together."_

" _No sweat Ashy-boy!"_

 _Ash grinned and looked back to Oak,_

" _I was wondering if you can do me a favour Professor, is there any chance you can remove my carry limit?"_

 _Oak smiled and stood up, "Of course my boy, I'll do it now."_

 _As he left the room Ash sighed and looked out the window. Upon the view Ash saw the mountains in the distance as an idea struck him._

" _I think I know where we're going Serena."_

 _She followed his gaze and tilted her head._

" _Where Ash?" He grinned and pointed at the tall mountains in the distance._

" _Mt. Silver"_

 _End Flashback_

4 years had passed since that fateful day in Pallet town. The funny thing about time is that it may be constantly moving forward, but it can seem to slow down so much that it feels like you're going to be swallowed by the past.

"As cliche and badass as it would be to go to a dark figure, brooding on a mountaintop planning revenge or justice to those that had done me wrong... I just didn't seem to care about them anymore."

"Hahaha! Ash! Stop it! You'll ruin my hair!"

Two figures could be seen running along the beach of a beautiful tropical island, a small yellow Pikachu chasing after them.

Ash finally caught Serena and lifted her over his shoulder, much broader shoulder connected to his toned upper body and arms. His raven hair tied up behind his head.

Serena had changed too, still beautiful on the inside and out she had grown curvier and filled out in certain areas... what do you expect at 21 years of age.

"Not a chance! I still owe you for teasing me this morning!" Ash chuckled.

"Oh come on Ash! You tease me all the time! It was fair play!" She groaned causing Ash to smirk before stopping.

"Yeah that's true... but so is this!" He yelled and threw Serena into the water.

Serena reemerged from the water with a pout on her face. Ash grinned and helped her out, "You're lucky I love you." She mumbled making Ash smile. He placed his arms around her and gave her a quick kiss.

"And I'm lucky you do." He replies making her smile.

They were interrupted when a blast of water sent them flying into the ocean.

They broke the surface to see Greninja laughing with Pikachu. Ash looked at Serena and smirked.

"Hey Greninja! I forgot to tell you, Pikachu was the one who ate your Pokepuffs!"

And all that was heard was a 'PIIIIIKAAAAPIIIIII!' Over their heads.

—-

and thats chapter 1. Hope you liked it enough to keep reading.

Stay salty!


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey everyone! I'm back with Chapter two, I hope you all enjoy it!_

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

 _Ash could only watch as his childhood home burned, he wasn't sure if it was imagination or not but he could have sworn he heard his mother screaming from inside as the roof collapsed, it was at that moment he felt his heart collapse with it._

" _MUUUUM!-"_

Ash shot up from his bed in a cold sweat, panting heavily. He grasped at the covers clenching them tight as he gathered himself.

"Ash?" A voice whispered beside him. He looked over to see Serena with a concerned face.

"I'm okay... Just another nightmare." He swung his legs off the bed and felt a hand on his shoulder.

"It was your mum again, wasn't it?" Ash sighed with a slight nod. Serena got up and made her way around to him, she sat on her knees in front of him and cradled his face with her hands.

"I can't begin to imagine how hard it still is for you, but it's not your fault. You did nothing wrong."

Ash closed his eyes but get a soft kiss on his forehead. "It was the selfish actions of another that caused it, not you. Your mum was and still is incredibly proud of you, you know that right?"

Ash nodded and placed a hand on her cheek, "What would I do without you, Serena?" She giggled and kissed his palm.

"Oh you know, you'd be wallowing away on top of some mountain planning the downfall of the government or something." Ash chuckled and gave her a warm smile. It still gave her butterfrees when he smiled, especially at her.

"You're right... I've been thinking Serena, it's been 4 years since we've been to Pallet. I want to go back and see Gary and Professor Oak, I saw a flier for the Interregional World Championship... I think it's time for me to pick up where I left off." A cute smile adorned Serena's face as she flicked his nose.

"There's my Pokémon Master!" Ash grinned and quickly lifted her over his shoulder.

"Hey! Ash stop it!" She giggled as he spun and placed her on the bed, leaning over her he closed the gap and kissed her.

"We still have an hour or two before we need to get up." Ash whispered, causing a light blush to rise on Serena.

Pikachu sat outside the bedroom door and merely shook his little head before dashing back to the other Pokémon.

His trainer was a piece of work.

Next morning

"So why the IWC Ash?" Serena inquired as she brushed her hair in front of the mirror. Ash pulled on a plain black shirt behind her as she observed him through the reflection.

"I've trained hard for the last 4 years love, I'm not about to retry all the leagues to work my way up. If I'm going to do this it's going to be all or nothing. The IWC will give me the chance to face all powerful league trainers, Elite four and Champions... all at once. This is big, with what I've discovered, I know we can beat them all. And winning the IWC means I'm the best, it means I'll be a Pokémon Master, the champion of champions." Ash adjusted his hat before sliding on his white and blue jacket.

"If you think this is what you need to do, I'm behind you all the way Ash, I just don't want you to be disappointed if it doesn't work out." Serena spoke as she tied her hair up with her blue ribbon.

Ash smiled and walked over to her, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. "Even if I don't win, while confident I will... I'll always have you. And that's worth more than any tournament."

Serena almost cried at how sincere Ash's words were, their moment was interrupted as Pikachu dashed into the room and leaped onto Serena's lap. With a smile she scratched the mouse behind the ear.

"Chaaa!" He cries in delight as Ash shook his head.

"Look at you mister suck up." Pikachu shrugs and enjoys the scratch.

Ash looks at the wall clock and then back to Serena.

"It's half past 9, time to go. We have a flight to catch...unless you want to fly on Charizard again?"

Serena shot up as Pikachu jumped to Ash's shoulder, "Ooh no! I'm not riding on that brute again!" Ash chuckled and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"You know he's fond of you babe, he just likes to tease you." Ash spoke with a cheeky grin.

"I know! And I'm fond of him and all your Pokémon but I won't be flying on him any time soon." She huffed and grabbed her bag as they left the room.

The three made their way to the lobby to check out of the room when four or five men and women surrounded them.

"Miss Serena! What are the plans now for the Kalos Queen?"

"Miss Serena!? Is being with a barely known trainer good for your publicity!?"

"Are you planning on dumping him for the well known league champion Calem, after his declaration that you are his goal!?"

"Sir! Are you aware of the people's distaste for you being unfit to date the Kalos Queen!?"

Serena grew angrier and angrier at the reporters and was about to snap when Ash places his hand on her shoulder.

"First of all. I am well aware of the public's views, But I simply don't care. Serena is the most important person in the world to me, she is the light of my life. This may be hard to understand for those small minded people but I loved Serena before she became Kalos Queen and I will always love her. And just so we are clear, if Calem so much as breathes in Serena's direction while I'm around he'll be swallowing his own teeth...

So let me put this out there... if Calem believes he's so good I challenge him to a battle. Unofficial of course so it won't bother his little brain that he may lose his title. If he wants to truely see who's more deserving of Serena he'll meet me at the indigo plateau on Saturday the 12th at 9:00am. He can bring any Pokémon he wishes to a 3 on 3 single battle.

Those are my terms and if he doesn't turn up then he's just all talk. In the end it doesn't matter though, Serena and I love each other and no battle win or lose will change that."

Serena stood shocked with a smile as the reporters moved back to her.

"Ash is right, while I believe he can defeat Calem easily... win or lose, regardless of the public's opinion on him, I don't need some title to love... I just need him. Now if you don't mind we have a flight to catch."

Ash and Serena pushed through the stunned reporters and left the building.

 _ **Kanto Region**_

Ash and Serena left the airport and made their way to a small cafe across the road, they sat down and ordered coffee and cakes as Pikachu munched on a roll.

"It's nice to be home..." Ash muttered as he looked out the window to see a flock of Pidgey land in the park nearby.

"It has been 4 years since we were here... are you sure you're okay?" Serena whispered as she placed a hand on his. He turned back and smiled.

"As long as you're here and I have my Pokémon I'm perfect. I'm looking forward to teaching Calem a lesson though." He added venomously.

Ash and Calem had a run in a year ago when Ash accompanied Serena to a ball, being to congratulate the new Kalos Champion Calem. Serena being the Kalos Queen attended, As was required.

The ball was in full swing and Ash was dancing with Serena when a hand came between them, Calem in all his pompous arrogance requested a dance with Serena, claiming that he should be the one guiding her instead of a nobody like Ash. Immediately Serena refused causing a silence, She moved past him and grabbed Ash's hand claiming that Ash was her boyfriend and Kalos queen or not she wouldn't dance with another.

This took Calem by surprise but gathered himself claiming that he would have her eventually.

The months rolled on and in one press conference Calem boldly declared that Serena should be with the Champion and not some useless trainer with no league wins, the public outcry agreeing with him was the reason Ash and Serena had traveled to Alola in the first place... this was the conclusion.

"I know you do Ash, and I hope you beat him too. Just don't let anger cloud your mind. If you stay cool you'll beat him, I know you will... besides you have no reason to worry, win or lose I won't leave you." She finished and sipped her coffee.

"I know, but I think it's time to use my full strength..." Serena's eyes opened wide as Ash grinned.

"You mean you did it? You broke the limit!?" She yelled softly.

Ash grinned and finished his coffee, "Yeah, while you had to do that two week promo tour in Sinnoh, i was training with Greninja, Sceptile and Charizard when it happened... I was quickly able to replicate it with the rest of my Pokémon... I've never seen anything like it and the feeling was indescribable."

Serena sighed and shook her head with a smile, "Well then... we certainly don't have anything to worry about after all."

"I guess not." Ash grinned.

 _ **Indigo Plateau, Saturday 12th 9:00am**_

Serena was sitting in one of the trainer boxes with Ash laying his head on her lap as she played with his hair.

The doors banged open across from them to reveal a smug looking Calem followed by reporters, a referee and camera crew.

"So you got here early, it's a shame you're going to lose. Then Serena can come with me at last!" He rubbed his knuckle on his coat as Ash and Serena stood up.

"What don't you understand you moron? Even if you manage to beat me today, Serena is not going with you." Ash spoke calmly with a grin.

"THATS NOT UP TO YOU!" Calem roared as the camera crew filmed the lot.

"Oh so you think you're going to force me to go with you? In your dreams Calem." Serena added while placing a hand on her hip.

"You will! The public agree with me! And I will save her from you, you nobody!" He growled making Ash sigh.

"Look, lets just get this battle done. I'm overdue meeting with an old friend." Ash finalised.

He made his way to the red box as Calem stood in the green.

"Fine then! The quicker we start the quicker I can leave with my Queen!"

Calem grabbed a Pokeball,

"Destroy him Chestnaught!"

The Grass/Fighting started appeared and roared in challenge. Ash sighed and unclipped his choice.

"You're up Bud!" Ash yelled as Greninja appeared in stance.

Calem began laughing loudly, even the reporters began to snicker.

"That's your choice!? You're seriously out of your league. Chestnaught! Use Wood hammer!"

As he closed in Ash watched calmly, Greninja remained unfazed, right before he hit Ash flinched. To anyone else they'd think he did so out of shock, but Serena knew how her boys battled.

It looked like Chestnaught had him when Greninja seemed to become transparent before vanishing and reappearing behind Chestnaught.

"What!? Behind you use leech seed!" Calem roared it Ash clenched his fist and threw it out to his right as Greninja closed in on Chestnaught in the blink of an eye and struck it in the chest with a powerful Aerial Ace. The audience looked on stunned as Chestnaught groaned and fell forward. Greninja merely stepped to the right as it hit the ground and walked calmly back to Ash.

"What!? No! How is that possible!? Calem cried out. "I don't know how you did it but that's impossible!"

Ash groaned and recalled Greninja, "are you really that naive, there's always things to improve on, always room to get better... you underestimated me Calem. The highest official ranking I got was the Kalos league when I came second. 4 years ago... did you think I was sitting around doing nothing? No! I have been traveling, battling and surviving harsh climates with my partners. And you know what?! We made a breakthrough... so come on and put your massive ego where your mouth is!" Ash yelled, but surprisingly stayed calm.

Calem shook with anger as he recalled Chestnaught.

"Fine then! Go Tyrantrum!"

The massive fossil Pokémon appeared and roared loudly making the ground shake. Ash looked on unimpressed as he grabbed another Pokeball.

"I choose you, Heracross!" Ash yelled as the blue stag beetle appeared.

Serena smiled, she was really fond of Heracross.

"Go Heracross!" She yelled while clapping making the Pokémon blush. Ash smiled and gestures for Calem to make a move.

"Tyrantrum! Crush that bug with Dragon tail!" The dinosaur thumped across the field and swung its massive tail at Heracross.

"Grab it." The split second call was heard and Heracross stopped the huge tail with amazing strength.

"Seismic Toss." Ash spoke watching as Heracross grunted and flipped Tyrantrum over him and smashed him into the ground, followed by a spin which sent the huge beast flying across the arena rolling to a stop.

Calem was shocked at Heracross' power.

"That's not possible.."

"Anythings possible... with a powerful bond and hard work." Ash said calmly

"Grrr I don't care! Tyrantrum get up and use Head smash!"

Tyrantrum got up and began running towards Heracross, Ash looked at Heracross and nodded,

"Meet it with Megahorn... aim low and send it off balance." Heracross grunted and flew towards the incoming dinosaur with a glowing horn.

Right before impact Heracross changed course and took out Tyrantrums leg making it tumble and hurt itself.

"Finish it with Close Combat!" Ash yelled.

Heracross closed in on the weary fossil type and placed a well rounded punch directly into Tyrantrums jaw causing a massive dust cloud.

Once the dust settled Heracross flew back to Ash and landed beside him.

"Great work Pal!" Ash praises while rubbing his head. Heracross smiled as Ash recalled him.

Tyrantrum wasn't so lucky, swirls were seen declaring Ash the winner.

Calem grew more frustrated he was being so outclassed.

"That's it! I've had enough! Go Absol!" Calem fumed as he called out his choice.

Ash noticed the Mega stone straight away and grinned. "You're up buddy."

Pikachu leapt from his shoulder and sparked.

"This will be over quick! Absol! Mega evolve!" Calem roared as the light tendrils matched Absols effectively mega evolving.

"Finish this in one hit! Use Giga Impact!"

Absol dashes at Pikachu before being surrounded by a golden and purple aura.

Ash swiped his hand out once more,

"Use thunderbolt! Then ride the current!"

Serena snapped her eyes to Ash, "He perfected it!" She yelled to herself as Pikachu fired a powerful bolt of electricity towards Absol, once he did he sprinted forward and coated himself like a Volt Tackle.

Ash watched as Pikachu hit his own Thunderbolt and vanished with a thunderclap.

No more than a few milliseconds later Pikachu broke from the Thunderbolt,

"Iron tail!" Ash roared.

The added speed and power it gained from riding the thunderbolt current struck Absol with so much force a sonic boom was heard before Absol rocketed backwards past Calem and hit the arena wall.

No one spoke as Absol fell from the wall and reverted back to normal.

"A-Absol is unable to battle... Pikachu wins." The referee yells in shock.

Pikachu dashes back to Ash and lands on his shoulder.

"Great work buddy, you nailed it!" Ash smiled at his best friend. Serena ran to Ash and smiled as she hugged him and gave Pikachu a scratch.

"Well done you two! And good work Pikachu!" She smiled at them earning grins back.

"NO! That's bullshit! I can't have lost! You used something illegal! You cheated! I demand you be detained!" Calem roared and ran towards them. Ash frowned and pulled Serena behind him.

"I think you should be more worried about Absol right now Calem. Take him to the Pokémon Centre." Ash spoke calmly.

"Shut up you bastard!" Calem spat angrily.

"There's no way you can beat me! Not ever unless you cheated!"

Ash frowned once more and stepped towards him making Calem flinch and step back.

"You listen to me you useless excuse of a Champion! I would never cheat! Everything I did is completely sanctioned!" Ash yelled.

Calem was about to retaliate when three more sets of footsteps approached.

"He's right. Everything he did was legal, just not seen for hundreds of years."

The voice turned out to be Lance, behind him were Cynthia and Steven Stone.

"B-But!"

"No. The way you have behaved is unfitting for a Champion, I suggest you go back to Kalos and rethink your choices Calem!" Steven added emphatically.

Calem backed down and looked at Ash, "We'll settle this another time!" He growled before stomping away.

Ash turned to the three champions and smiled, "Hey, it's great to see you all again." He smiles earning three in return.

"Good to see you too, Ash. How have you been, you dropped off the radar for 4 years." Steven spoke.

"Ya know... after mum... after that Serena and I took off, needed some time to heal and train before coming back." Serena grabbed his hand and smiled at him.

"That's good to hear, and once again we are sorry for your loss Ash, what Misty did even if she didn't plan on hurting your mother was disgusting, she's still serving time at Iron island prison." Lance added looking down.

Ash smiled sadly, "It's okay Lance, I know it wasn't intentional to hurt mum, but actions have consequences. I've learnt that the hard way... I'm just fortunate I have Serena and my Pokémon with me."

The champions nodded with a smile, "You can always come to us for help if you need it Ash, after all we are all friends in our own right." Cynthia spoke with a smile earning one back from Ash and Serena.

"Of course! And that goes both ways, after all I plan to win it all at the IWC." Ash chuckled earning shocked looks from the three.

"Now I'm actually excited to battle you on even ground with no titles." Lance chuckled with nods from the other two.

"It's still two months away Ash, what do you plan on doing in the mean time?" Steven asked.

"Not sure, I plan on going to see Professor Oak, after that no idea. Most likely training to break some limits."

"What Pikachu did earlier... he tapped into the static current and rode the attack didn't he?" Steven asked curiously.

"He did... it's taken a long time but if you break down a Pokémon's attacks to a basic level and work with their abilities... it's quite possible... but increasingly hard to master... If it goes wrong badly then it can me dangerous."

The three champions were impressed at how smart Ash was now,

"Incredible, well Ash we'd all love to stay and chat but I have a few things to deal with. It's good to see you again and I look forward to our battle at the IWC." Lance grinned and shook Ash's hand as Steven did the same and received a friendly hug from Cynthia.

"See you all there!" Ash cried as they vanished from view. He then turned to Serena and smiled at the proud look she was giving him.

"You were amazing out there, even if it was obvious you were holding back. I'm curious though... how much were you holding back?" She asked earning a grin from him.

"Well... that was roughly... twenty percent." He said while sheepishly scratching his head, Pikachu did the same.

...

"What!?"

—

And that's it for Chapter 2, hope you liked the plot plan, but it won't be as straight forward as it sounds!

-Norsekode


End file.
